Thailand - Beach and Elephants

The Beach - we spent 3 days at a beach resort in the province of Rayong (there is a city of the same name) of Thailand. It is a few kms east of a Ban Phe, a fishing port. We stayed at Novotel Rim Pae Resort. Fine, salmon colored sand. All Europeans except us. But everyone speaks English to the staff; it's the universal language for sure. We sure had trouble breaking the ice with them. They can't even say "good morning." I was getting to the point of asking "what language should I use for my morning greeting?" In our short time we were unable to get to any of the off-shore islands. There wasn't good snorkeling at the resort's beach, nice as it was. So you have to get to an island and you can do a day tour to several; the largest is Ko Samet. One couple who did said the fish were not very good - not up to Hawaii standards. They are from Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar and they have much better at home. The Elephant Trek at Pattaya Elephant Village - more later.